Taunton Thespians News

Another former Taunton Thespian on the professional stage

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:00:44 GMT

The webmaster has received the following from ex-member James Foster:
Hi
I was wondering if you could do me a favour and post some information on your web page for your members. I was a member a while ago, taking part in The Ghost Train, The Comedy of Errors and Much Ado About Nothing before heading to London to train at Italia Conti on the BA Acting course.
Well, I've just graduated from drama school and I've got my first part in a professional play in London and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in coming to see it.
I will be playing Soranzo in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore - John Ford's classic tragedy of passion, madness, murder and sibling incest.
It is being staged by Baseless Fabric Theatre Company, directed by Joanna Turner, and runs at the White Bear Theatre, Kennington from Tueday July 21st 2009 to Sunday 9th August 2009.
Tickets priced at £12/£10 can be booked from the Box office on 020 7793 9193 or through the White Bear's website
More information will be posted on my website in due course, and if people wonder who I am I had to change my name because of Equity and was known in the Thespians days as James Foster.
Hope you can help,
Many Thanks
James Foster

Other stuff that's on...

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:56:55 GMT

There is really a lot on over the next week or so, as well as our Tour. So, after you've decided which night you're coming to see us, try and get along to see former Thespian Clive Linthorne in Rebel Yelp, or Bradford Players production of Tomb with a View, or SCAT's Re:Generation group's presentation of Brecht'sThe Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, or Hatch Beauchamp's Ayckbourn evening. Full details are in the local press.

Taunton Thespians On Tour 2009

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:50:20 GMT

Our Ninth annual Summer Tour of stunning venues across Somerset starts on Tuesday 16th of June, and it looks like we may have a bit of sun... Tickets are £9 and £8 in advance, £10 and £9 on the door - gate? Full details of venues are at this link

Two Gents to All Winners

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:08:24 GMT

Taunton Thespians are very pleased to announce that this year's Somerset County Drama Festival winner, AP Herbert's Two Gentlemen of Soho, directed by Michael Gilbert, has been selected for the All Winners Drama Festival. This is being held in Woking, Surrey, this year from the 19th to the 25th of July. Thespians will be performing second on the 19th. Hope to see lots of you there!

London Assurance Tickets now on sale!

Thu, 21 May 2009 17:47:08 GMT

We're pleased to report that tickets are now on sale for this year's Summer Tour, Dion Boucicault's exceedingly funny Restoration comedy London Assurance. You can get them from the Brewhouse box office in person or by phone, call 01823 283244, from the Taunton Tourist Information Office and from some of the venues - Glastonbury, Cleeve and Muchelney Abbey shops among them. You can also buy online from thebrewhouse.net - look for us under June 2009.
Hope to see you at one of the shows!

Daisy Pulls It Off - reading and auditions

Mon, 18 May 2009 06:43:47 GMT

As the last reading of Daisy Pulls It Off clashed with lots of other things in peoples' diaries, we're holding another on the 8th of July. This is open to anyone who is interested, and will be at 7.30pm at our home base, The Place in Wilfred Road, Taunton. And we've also set audition dates; same venue, but on every Tuesday in August, again at 7.30pm. This should give all those lucky people who are taking holidays at least one chance to turn up. These are open auditions, so all are welcome. Audition pieces will be available at the reading and on request afterwards. If you'd like more information, email the director, Michael Gilbert, via the Committee Page link. Look forward to seeing you there!

May Club Night - An Evening of Tragedy and Comedy

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:02:03 GMT

Wednesday 20th May – 7.30 PM @ The Place

You are cordially invited to enjoy an entertaining play reading evening with a difference…..
Two one act plays – both very contrasting:
One serious!
One ridiculous!
(You can decide which one is which)
Your hostess for the evening will be Jane Burt, and the usual refreshments will be provided.

May Club Night - Soho Squared

Mon, 04 May 2009 10:01:27 GMT

This month's club night is a dry run for our Ten Parishes Festival offering, which we're calling Soho Squared. This takes our County Drama Festival winning production of AP Herbert's Two Gentlemen of Soho and pairs it with another short play set in the same London district. The author, Ian Hay, described The Crimson Cocoanut as "an absurdity", which covers it nicely. We won't be performing this one, just giving a rehearsed reading on this occasion. As ever, it's free to get in, and an entertaining evening is guaranteed.

Reading Daisy reminder

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:54:16 GMT

Just to remind everyone out there that we're reading Daisy Pulls It Off this evening at The Place, starting at 7.30pm. No charge, it's not an audition, just come along and enjoy reading a very funny play. We're doing this in the autumn, so we will be auditioning later in the year.

Reading Miss Daisy

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:18:34 GMT

Just to remind everyone out there that we've a reading of Daisy Pulls it Off on this coming Wednesday, 22nd of April. Everyon is welcome, members or otherwise. We need lots of younger female actors for this production, so if you fancy a go, please turn up at The Place, in Wilfred Road, Taunton, at 7.30pm. If you can't and want to audition, don't worry, we won't be holding those till later on.

Last Gentlemen, for now...

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:53:43 GMT

It's sad to have to report that Two Gentlemen of Soho was knocked out in the quarter finals of the AETF at the Blakehay on Saturday. The adjudicator, Colin Dolley, was full of praise for all aspects of the production, but in the end the winners were St Paul's Players of Bristol, with a production of Gillian Plowman's Beata Beatrix. Thanks to all the members who came along to support; a comedy needs the support of the audience to work, and this makes festivals difficult, when most of the audience aren't on side from the start. Anyone who missed the production has a chance to see it on the Club Night on the 6th of May, in tandem with a reading of The Crimson Cocoanut by Ian Hay. We're also performing both plays as part of the Ten Parishes Festival in September.

Site menu and search change

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:31:52 GMT

Just to let you know that the search tool for the site has been changed to Orca, as mentioned recently. The oportunity has also been taken to change the navigation menu on the left to better reflect how people have been using the site. Comments, as ever, are welcome via the Contacts page to Michael Gilbert, Publicity Officer & Webmaster

Posters back catalogue

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:33:16 GMT

Just to let you know that digital copies of our posters for the past couple of years have now been made available online. Click on the title above to see them. Note that they are all PDFs, and mostly quite large.

Summer Tour 2009 dates

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:46:29 GMT

Taunton Thespians On Tour present London Assurance by Dion Boucicault, a comedy of manners and the clash between Town and Country.

All dates in June, performances start at 7.30pm. Tickets are £9 full and £8 concessions, and are valid for any performance. All performances are open air, so people are advised to bring warm clothes, as even the hottest June night gets a bit nippy when you're sitting still. Also, seats are not provided, so bring chairs or rugs to sit on, along with a picnic and a bottle of something decent, and you'll have a huge amount of fun.
Tue 16 Bishop's Hull, Taunton
Wed 17 Cleeve Abbey, Roadwater
Thu 19 Crowcombe Heathfield
Fri 20 Fyne Court, Broomfield
Sat 21 Lovibonds Farm, Burrowbridge
Tue 23 Glastonbury Abbey
Wed 24 Muchelney Abbey, Langport
Thu 25 The Cleve Hotel & Country Club, Wellington
Fri 26 St James' Church Grounds, Taunton